Uganda: Museveni Blasts Police As Thieves, Warns of Sacking

Speaking at a thanksgiving ceremony for Ms Beatrice Anywar, the Kitgum Municipality Member of Parliament, who survived a motor accident in March this year in Lamwo District last Friday, Mr Museveni said most police officers are corrupt.

Uganda: Museveni Blasts Police As Thieves, Warns of Sacking

Speaking at a thanksgiving ceremony for Ms Beatrice Anywar, the Kitgum Municipality Member of Parliament, who survived a motor accident in March this year in Lamwo District last Friday, Mr Museveni said most police officers are corrupt.

29 May 2017 Monday 14:31

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has once more torn into the reputation of Uganda Police Force and accused them of being irredeemably corrupt and promoting crime in the country.

The President's disapproval comes just two months after he accused the same law and order agency of being infiltrated by criminals who have compromised investigations into high profile killings, especially in Kampala.

Speaking at a thanksgiving ceremony for Ms Beatrice Anywar, the Kitgum Municipality Member of Parliament, who survived a motor accident in March this year in Lamwo District last Friday, Mr Museveni said most police officers are corrupt.

The function was held at Boma Grounds in Kitgum Town and attended by scores of residents, cultural, religious and political leaders from the Acholi sub-region. "Since 1980 when we removed former President Idi Amin from power, we started recruiting educated people into the police, all these children [officers] in the police are educated now but quite a number of them are corrupt," Mr Museveni said.

But he said it's easier to end corruption through information shared by the residents with elected local leaders, arguing that the government has put structures in place to address it.

"If the police, health workers, and teachers are corrupt, report them to the people you elected. The NRM knew this; we knew that civil servants could be corrupt that's why we decided that communities elect their own leaders," Mr Museveni said.

The President blamed the local leaders for not identifying corrupt police officers to be prosecuted.

"Sacking 100 police officers is nothing because there are many children waiting to join the police, this is not a problem... ., if there are those ones [police officers] who are corrupt, identify them," he said.

Hailing Anywar

At the event, Mr Museveni took time to praise Ms Anywar over what he described as her 'changed' political attitude towards the government.

Ms Anywar was cast in the spotlight in 2007 for criticising the government over its proposed giveaway of part of Mabira Forest Reserve to Mehta Group to grow sugarcane.

She also made headlines in 2012 when she bussed nearly 25 children suffering from the nodding disease syndrome from Kitgum District to Kampala, accusing the government of negligence of its afflicted citizens.

"About 10 years ago, Ms Beatrice Anywar's attitude has changed positively. But even if she was bad as she was in the past, I was still going to come to praise the Lord for saving her life from three road accidents," Mr Museveni said.

The President in his visit to the district, commissioned Hope for Humans nodding disease syndrome treatment centre in Akwang Sub-county and also visited the Irene Gleeson Foundation [IGF].

He also donated a tractor to women saving groups in the district to help in agriculture.

Ms Anywar, in her speech, thanked God for protecting her amid rumours from people who kept relaying variant accounts about her health and even demise.

She said the thanksgiving wasn't political in anyway, arguing that even when subscribing to different political parties, "we should learn to live together."

President Museveni's remarks come at the time the police is battling to clean their image that has suffered wide condemnation about their inhumane torture of suspects at Nalufenya Detention Centre. The suspects are implicated in the murder of former police spokesperson Andrew Felix Kaweesi.

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics National Service Delivery Survey of 2015 based on 10,101 respondents scored the police at 75 per cent as far as bribery, fraud and extortion are concerned.

Police criticism

The President's disapproval comes just two months after he accused the same law and order agency of being infiltrated by criminals who have compromised investigations into high profile killings, especially in Kampala.

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